Maybe It’s Not the Clubs…Maybe it’s You?

It’s April, spring is in the air and golf season is here. It’s time to dust off the sticks and hit the range. Maybe you’ve thought about upgrading some of your equipment, or getting some lessons (highly recommended!). But, have you noticed just how stiff those first few golf swings of the season feel? Ever considered that getting your body into shape for golf might be just as important as that new driver you’ve been coveting?

“...have you noticed just how stiff those first few golf swings of the season feel?”

Today we’re going to talk about a few things you can do to self assess your golf swing, and recommend a few exercises that might help you get your body ready to hit the links.

Rotation of your body is an integral part of your golf swing and is likely one of the variables causing you to feel that early season stiffness. Just look at how much this skeleton from Evil Dead 2 has to rotate on his golf swing!

Rotation in the golf swing comes from two key places: your hips, and your upper back.

Mid back, a.k.a. Thoracic Spine Rotation is an essential part of your golf swing.

One way to Assess Your Mid Back Rotation:

In your starting golf posture cross your arms and grab your shoulders.

Try to rapidly rotate your shoulders while not moving your lower half.
Difficulty keeping your hips still while isolating your upper body rotation might mean your upper back is stiff, but could also mean your hips are weak.

One way to Mobilize Your Stiff Back:

Start by sitting on your knees meet your elbows together with your forearms on the floor.
Reach one arm behind your lower back and focus on rotating through your upper back. Use a deep breath in this rotated position to help increase the stretch.
To increase the stretch you can also put a band around your shoulder, reach for it behind your back, and set up the stretch as described above.

How to Isolate and Strengthen Your Back Rotation:

In a lunge position using a cable or exercise band reach with one hand and rotate through your upper back.
Your lower half should be held stable by your hip muscles in the lunge position.